


Queer & Here

by whoopitslup



Category: Dimension 20 (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, a queerphobic crime occurs offscreen, but please don't read if you will find it triggering or uncomfy!, characters deal with the fallout and comfort each other, it's just a broken window
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:15:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27571390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whoopitslup/pseuds/whoopitslup
Summary: Instead of working at a bookshop at the opening of tuc2, Pete is working at a support center for queer children. He bonds with D, and they deal with the ups and downs of being queer.
Relationships: Pete Conlan & D
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	Queer & Here

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this kind of to comfort myself after the passing of my grandfather using these characters, because apparently writing fanfic is a coping mechanism of mine now? Anyway, it's short and sweet, and I hope you enjoy it!

Pete Conlan rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as his alarm continued to beep. He reached an arm out and smacked it off, sitting up on his bed with a yawn.

His phone buzzed, and he groped blindly for it on the nightstand. It was a text from Kingston. “Ready for today? Good luck!”

Pete groaned and stood, stretching. He squinted at himself in the mirror. It had been three years now, but the twin scars under his pecs still delighted him everytime he saw them. He tugged on the gayest button-up he owned and a pair of pants before stumbling blearily out the door, squinting at the directions he’d pulled up on his phone.

Thirty minutes and a ride on the subway later, Pete was standing outside of an old building, a rainbow painted across its cracked window. He double-checked the address on his phone before pushing the door open. 

“Uh, hello?” he called.

A wheelchair user wheeled themself out from what Pete assumed was the back room. “Hey, you’re Pete, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m Z. They/them.”

“He/him,” Pete said, relaxing slightly.

“Welcome to Queer & Here,” they said, gesturing around. “First day, right?”

“Yeah.”

“The kids will be arriving shortly.” They began heading back towards the back room. “I’ll show you where you can put your stuff.”

“Thanks.”

Pete pulled out his phone as he tossed his stuff in his locker. Another text from Kingston was onscreen. “Hey Pete. You got this.” Pete took a deep breath, shoved his phone into his pocket, and walked back to the front room.

A young child, maybe 9 years old, was sitting cross-legged in one corner, book open on their lap. Pete glanced around for Z, but they were still in the back room with final preparations. He walked over to the kid and sat down next to them.

“Hi, I’m Pete.”

The kid looked up, the trepidation in their eyes quickly replaced by a sense of wonder. “Hi.”

“What’s your name, kiddo?” Pete asked.

The kid paused. “Amanda.”

Pete cocked his head. “Do you want me to call you Amanda?” he asked, picking up on the subtleties in their voice.

The kid looked down. “That’s what people call me. Though sometimes they call me D because there’s a lot of Amandas in my grade. I like that.”

“Nice,” Pete said. “The other person here, their name’s Z.”

D’s eyes widened as they looked up at Pete disbelievingly. “Really?”

“Yep! What’re you reading, D?”

D looked surprised but pleased at the name. “Uh, it’s a story about a mouse named Despereaux. He’s saving a human princess.”

“Oh cool. I never really read much as a kid, unfortunately, but that sounds really interesting.”

D looked up at him, “Why not? I like reading. It’s good for… uh, for pretending I’m somewhere else. Or someone else.”

Pete nodded. “I did do a lot of that. People thought I was a girl when I was your age, and I hated it, and I spent a lot of time pretending I was a boy on fantastical adventures. And it turns out I am!” Pete summoned his green butterfly, winking at D as it flitted around his head before dismissing it.

“Woah,” D breathed. “That’s so cool.”

“You can be anyone you want to be, boy, girl, both, neither, whatever.”

D smiled. “Thanks, Pete.”

Z came out of the back room and smiled and waved. “Hi, kiddo! You’re a bit early!”

“This is D,” Pete said.

D looked up at him with wide, grateful eyes.

Kids continued to trickle in and out throughout the day, some as young as D, others as old as eighteen. Pete and Z sat with them, helping them with homework, talking about the unique issues they faced as queer kids, or simply chatting and giving the kids a sense of community.

Pete pulled out his phone as he stood on the platform of the subway station. He pulled up Kingston’s texts, and a sudden feeling of gratefulness overwhelmed him. He was so thankful to Kingston for getting him this job, getting him out of addiction, getting him help. He typed out and deleted a few texts before just sending the word “thanks.”

Pete began to settle into his new life working with these delightful queer kids. D came by nearly every day, growing more confident and happier every time they talked. Pete could tell he was growing happier too. This place was good not just for the kids. He was staying sober and was actually striking up quite a good friendship with Z.

As Pete approached Queer & Here nearly a month after he began working, he noticed D kneeling below the window, now fully broken, trying to pick up the glass shards. 

“D? You ok?”

They looked up at him, face streaked with tears. “I’m sorry,” they sobbed, running towards him and wrapping their arms around his waist.

Pete smoothed their hair as he hugged them back. “It’s ok. It’s gonna be ok.”

He picked up D and walked into the main room. “Hey, I’m gonna clean up the glass so no one gets hurt and then we’ll talk about this, ok?”

D nodded, wiping at their eyes.

He hustled to the back room, grabbing the broom and dust pan, and cleaned up the glass as quickly as he could while still being effective. Returning the broom, he grabbed the large piece of cardboard that Z had sadly explained was for this purpose on his first day. He taped it over the window hole before texting Z of what had happened. He paused, then sent off a text to Kingston explaining it as well.

He took a seat back down next to D, who quickly clutched onto him. 

Pete rubbed one hand comfortingly on their back. “Some people don’t like what we’re doing here. And they do things like that,” he said, nodding at the window. “And it sucks. But we know we’re right and good and we belong here. We’re not leaving. And we’ll get through this together, ok?”

D sniffled and nodded. “O-Ok.”

“That’s what we’re here for. To be each other’s support and friends and even family. We’ll look out for each other. No matter what, ok? That’s why Z made this space, so you guys can have us grown-ups to lean on.”

D curled against them, tears subsiding. “Th-thanks, Pete.”

After a couple minutes of them just sitting together, Z came quickly through the door, “Pete? You ok? Oh, hi D,” they said, shifting tone as they realized they were there. “You doing ok? I know this is hard.”

“Yeah,” Pete said, “It’s hard but we’re doing ok.”

D accepted a hug from Z before returning to hanging on to Pete’s waist as he stood. His phone buzzed, and he glanced down at a text from Kingston.

“My friend says he can get us a replacement installed today,” Pete said. 

Z looked relieved. “Thank him for me.”

“Yeah.”

Pete looked down at D. “You want to help us repaint when it goes in?”

D smiled for the first time since Pete had arrived that morning. “Yeah. Thanks.”  


**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Say hi on tumblr, I'm whoopitslup


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